The Grand Tour

After departing from Paris by coach on 21 December 1822 the Macquaries and their servants eventually reached Lyons on 2 January 1823. For the next 6 months they travelled extensively through southern France, northern Italy and Switzerland.

They wintered for two months near the coastal town of Hyères. On 10 March they set out for Nice and from here sailed for Italy on 18 March. After a pleasant overnight voyage of sixteen hours they reached Genoa and spent sevral days exploring the town and its environs. Their route from Genoa travelled through Lucca, Leghorn, Pisa and Florence, reaching Rome on 12 April. After a brief visit they set off for Naples where Macquarie met with William Hamilton, the British Envoy, and took the oportunity to visit Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii. The travelling party remained in Naples from 20-28 April and then returned again to Rome where Macquarie had a brief audience with Pope Pius VII and attended the celebration of a High Mass to the Cardinals on 8 May. For the next week there were visits to various classical and ecclesiastical sites scattered throughout the city.

The Macquaries' travel itinerary moved northward through Sienna and Padua and reached Venice in late May. After a three day visit they travelled to Milan and from there crossed the Alps into Switzerland on 12 June. They re-entered France on 24 June, having passed through Lausanne and Geneva.

Throughout their journey the Macquaries were unabashed tourists, visiting museums, churches, galleries and shops, attending the theatre, meeting with friends and acquaintances as well as marvelling at the wonders of nature. However, personal health and considerations of honour were matters that impinged heavily upon their minds. Elizabeth continued to remain weak in body, and did not accompany her husband, son, and tutor Robert Meiklejohn, on all the outings. Lachlan, for his part, had suffered cold and fever for two weeks in Hyères (in early February). The nine year old Lachlan Jnr. did not appear to experience any illness during the journey. However, there was the shadow of political devlopments at home that could not be escaped from and Lachlan acquired from a private source details of the Reports in preparation by Commissioner Bigge.

In the final stages of the journey Macquarie took time to compose his reply to the findings of the three Reports prepared by Commissioner John Thomas Bigge and tabled in the House of Commons on 19 June 1822, 21 February 1823, and 13 March 1823. He stayed at Fountainbleau between 2-14 July to outline his defense of his administration of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.

After a brief stay with Emily Drummond (wife of James Drummond, the future 8th Viscount Strathallan and godfather of Lachlan Jnr.) and her young family at Courbeton (15 miles from Fountainbleau) the Macquarie party moved on for a nine day visit to Paris between 16-25 July. From here they travelled to Calais and returned to London on 31 July.

POEM

Australasia.
Composed by William Charles Wentworth and dedicated to Lachlan Macquarie. Published in London in 1823.
See: Dedication and the full-text of the 443-word Poem.